Evaluate

Evaluate

Weigh the pros and cons of technologies, products and projects you are considering.

• SAN virtualization: Products and best practices for storage virtualization

  Learn how to best implement SAN virtualization in our collection of top articles on storage virtualization products and best practices. Continue Reading

• Users say choosing the best SMB NAS system has gotten a little easier

  Choosing an SMB NAS system has gotten a lot easier, thanks to a plethora of vendors offering full-featured products priced right for SMBs. Continue Reading

• Using iSCSI for virtual server environments

  In this podcast interview, Mike Laverick discusses the pros and cons of using iSCSI for virtual server environments. Learn how to implement and configure iSCSI and more. Continue Reading

• Storage virtualization products: An important niche

  Storage virtualization products help IT shops in need of non-disruptive data migration, tech refreshes and life support for aging storage assets. Continue Reading

• SSD caching vs. primary storage for data placement

  SSD caching and primary storage are the two main ways to implement solid-state storage technology with respect to data placement. We explain both strategies. Continue Reading

• Cloud storage options: Public vs. private vs. hybrid cloud storage

  Cloud storage options include public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud storage. We weigh their scalability, security, performance, reliability and cost.Continue Reading

• Virtual server tutorial: Managing a server virtualization environment

  This virtual server tutorial evaluates network storage options for virtual servers, describes the VMware vStorage APIs and discusses VMware virtual servers.Continue Reading

• Storage area network basics you need to know before you buy a SAN

  Before you buy a SAN for your SMB, be sure to review these storage area network basics first.Continue Reading

• Choosing the best virtual server storage: A tutorial

  Choosing primary storage for virtual servers involves balancing performance, capacity, features, and costs. Learn the key factors to pick the best virtual-server storage system.Continue Reading

• Getting started with an iSCSI storage system: An iSCSI primer

  A lot of SMBs are realizing that iSCSI is a good fit for them. Find out what you need to get started with your first iSCSI storage system.Continue Reading

• Solid-state storage technology: Transforming storage with NAND flash

  Solid-state storage technology is poised to revolutionize data storage with new implementations of NAND flash; discover the benefits of solid-state storage.Continue Reading

• Data storage trends 2011: Predictions of hot data storage technologies

  Explore this expert FAQ as three analysts weight in and tell us what they think are the hottest data storage technologies and data storage trends for 2011.Continue Reading

• Six tips for buying a used storage system

  Are you thinking of buying second-hand data storage equipment to save money? Read these six tips before you buy a used storage system.Continue Reading

• Storage virtualization technology benefits and drawbacks

  We outline the benefits and drawbacks of storage virtualization technology, and tell you how to implement data storage virtualization into your environment.Continue Reading

• VDI technology: What you need to know to implement VDI at your company

  Our VDI technology assessment helps users construct a VDI project plan, provides VDI licensing info and discusses the challenges of implementing VDI storageContinue Reading

• Incorporating an iSCSI storage system into your Ethernet network

  iSCSI storage systems have many benefits for SMBs. Here's what you need to know before incorporating iSCSI into your existing Ethernet network.Continue Reading

• Hitachi Data Systems releases Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) enterprise storage array

  Hitachi Data Systems upgrades its high-end storage array; Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) scales higher than its previous system and supports more granular tiering and provisioning.Continue Reading

• Choosing a SAN technology: Fibre Channel vs. iSCSI

  In part three of our series, we examine several misconceptions about FC vs. ISCSI SANs and how to choose the right SAN technology for your SMB.Continue Reading

• How RAID storage systems protect your application data

  RAID storage systems improve application performance and data availability. Learn about RAID levels and choosing the right RAID technology.Continue Reading

• Clustered NAS: How to choose the right clustered NAS system

  Finding the right clustered NAS (or scale-out NAS) system means knowing your storage needs. Learn the questions to ask when evaluating your requirements and the latest offerings.Continue Reading

• Implementing an electronic records retention system

  Learn the components of an electronic records retention system and best practices for implementing an electronic data discovery policy. Don't risk e-discovery request errors.Continue Reading

• Data reduction techniques for primary data storage systems

  Learn about the most popular data reduction techniques for your primary data storage systems.Continue Reading

• Self-healing systems and RAID technology

  Find out how Atrato, DataDirect Networks, Panasas and Xiotech use RAID technology in self-healing systems and also deal with hard disk drive (HDD) failures.Continue Reading

• Affordable shared storage options for VMware vSphere

  In order to use many of the advanced features in VMware vSphere, you need a shared storage device. This tip offers a list of the most common shared storage options from different vendors.Continue Reading

• Disk archiving appliance types: High-end systems to low-end email archiving appliances

  Learn about the basic types of disk archiving appliances, from high-end disk archiving systems that handle multiple content types to low-end disk-based archive appliances.Continue Reading

• SRM tools: Choosing the right storage resource management tool for storage provisioning

  SRM tools offer capacity reporting, including change management and chargeback, but can be pricey and complicated. Here's what you should know before you invest in SRM tools.Continue Reading

• pNFS spec for faster file service arrives, but NAS systems lack capable clients

  The NFSv4.1 protocol with pNFS technology promises to deliver better performance and easier management when delivering large files. NetApp, EMC and Panasas will provide code and engineering talent.Continue Reading

• What is a clustered storage system?

  Discover the differences between clustered storage systems, distributed computing systems and mainframe systems as they relate to enterprise data storage environments.Continue Reading

• What are the pros and cons of working with a storage VAR for small businesses?

  Greg Schulz explains the pros and cons of working with VARs in SMB environments in this expert response.Continue Reading

• What high-availability storage options are available for small businesses?

  Greg Schulz discusses different high-availability options that are available to SMBs in this expert response.Continue Reading

• The components that make up a well-balanced data storage system

  Learn about the various components in your data storage system including server architecture, HBAs, SAN components and external disks and disk controllers.Continue Reading

• Choosing and implementing a host bus adapter for small and medium businesses

  Host bus adapters can also be a common pain point when setting up your storage environment. Tony Palmer, senior lab engineer with Enterprise Strategy Group, answers some frequently asked questions about HBAs in this Q&A.Continue Reading

• HP IO Accelerator cards let Answers.com implement solid-state storage for database performance boost

  To improve database performance on its Web servers, Answers.com implements solid-state storage using HP IO Accelerator cards; sees a 900% increase in the number of queries each database server can handle.Continue Reading

• Solid-state drives vs. hard disk drives: How to justify the cost of an SSD

  Learn about the best use cases for solid-state drives (SSDs) and why applications that directly impact revenue are a perfect fit for the technology.Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of removable disk storage for small businesses

  Removable disk storage is making its way back into data storage environments. Find out what the pros and cons are for disk compared to tape.Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of RAID disk arrays in small business data storage environments

  RAID is commonly used in many data storage environments for added data protection, however there are several drawbacks when using RAID.Continue Reading

• Choosing a NAS filer for small and medium-sized businesses

  Learn what a NAS filer is, if it's suitable for your SMB and how to choose the right one for your data storage environment.Continue Reading

• Director switch comparison: Brocade DCX Backbone versus Cisco Systems MDS 9500

  Are you looking for director switch for your SAN? We compare the Brocade DCX Backbone and Cisco Systems MDS 9500 offerings in terms of latency, throughput and FCoE support.Continue Reading

• Data file archiving for small businesses: Determining what file archive tools to use for your SMB

  Learn how to determine what file archive tools are best for your organization in this FAQ.Continue Reading

• Performance metrics: Evaluating your data storage efficiency

  Learn how performance metrics can evaluate the efficiency of your enterprise data storage resources in terms of capacity utilization, performance and data protection.Continue Reading

• Tools and techniques for reducing your enterprise data storage footprint

  Find out how storage managers can reduce their enterprise data management footprint. Learn about the importance of managing your data and the various tools for doing so, including data archiving, thin provisioning and data deduplication.Continue Reading

• Data storage for virtual environments: Pros and cons of DAS, NAS, and SAN

  Learn about the pros and cons of DAS, NAS, and SAN storage technologies for your virtual environment.Continue Reading

• How to select a storage resource management (SRM) tool

  SRM tools can help you evaluate and leverage your storage infrastructure. Learn the best practices for selecting an SRM tool and how SRM technology can reclaim orphaned storage.Continue Reading

• How do I choose the right RAID level for my SMB?

  Greg Schulz explains how to choose the right RAID level for your SMB in this Ask the Expert response.Continue Reading

• Fibre Channel switch options for SMBs

  Recently, the Fibre Channel industry has become more attractive and affordable for SMBs. This article explores FC switch considerations and products for SMBs.Continue Reading

• Addressing data storage performance with storage monitoring tools

  Enterprise data storage performance bottlenecks can be addressed by a mix of storage-related tools, including operating system tools, storage resource management (SRM) software, SAN monitoring applications and more.Continue Reading

• What you need to know about storage encryption products

  Encryption products are evolving to occupy different parts of the IT infrastructure. Read our list of products that perform encryption and manage encryption key management.Continue Reading

• Enterprise data storage configuration tools: Trends and best practices

  Data storage configuration tools are getting easier to use as vendors improve the built-in element managers of storage devices, their storage resource management software and other tools.Continue Reading

• Alternatives to Cisco's Unified Computing System: HP BladeSystem Matrix and InteliCloud 360

  Looking for alternatives to Cisco's Unified Computing System? HP's BladeSystem Matrix has integrated services, while InteliCloud Inc.'s 360 has an innovative chassis design.Continue Reading

• Inside Cisco Systems' Unified Computing System

  Cisco's Unified Computing System (UCS) is a new type of enterprise server system. But how will it help data storage professionals solve their server virtualization issues?Continue Reading

• Choosing a storage system for data archiving

  Learn whether a unified, multiprotocol storage system or a consolidated storage system is best for archiving data in your business. Which one allows the index and content to share space, and eases management?Continue Reading

• Server-based operating systems vs. PC-based operating systems

  Greg Schulz explains the differences between server-based operating systems and PC-based operating systems in this ATE response.Continue Reading

• Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) expands thin provisioning with Storage Reclamation Service and Hitachi Dy

  Hitachi Data Systems' thin provisioning now supports midrange disk arrays, an HDS Storage Reclamation Service feature and a new Hitachi Dynamic Provisioning assessment service.Continue Reading

• New data archiving products focus on software-only delivery, cloud integration

  Emerging data archiving products focus on software-only delivery and grid architecture, latch onto cloud integration and look for alternatives to SQL databases for indexing.Continue Reading

• What you need from a third-party storage service provider

  Third-party data storage vendors can help SMBs with limited resources make strategic decisions and navigate data storage. This tip will help you make the important decisions that are involved in selecting third-party support.Continue Reading

• Choosing a midrange network-attached storage (NAS) system

  Midrange network-attached storage (NAS) appliances can be an affordable solution for SMBs in today's do-more-with-less economic climate. Learn how to choose the NAS system that best fits your storage environment.Continue Reading

• What are clustered storage architectures?

  Learn more about clustered storage architectures and the various vendor products on the market.Continue Reading

• How to determine a NAS system's scalability

  This tip covers scalability limitations of a network-attached storage (NAS) system, including maxed managed file limits, IOPS and throughput limits, and capacity limits. It can help you avoid application outages that occur when storage reaches ...Continue Reading

• Pros and cons of storage capacity management tools

  Learn what storage capacity management tools can and can't do by looking at the operational problems they're attempting to solve.Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of solid-state drives for notebook computers

  A solid-state drive (SSD), like the name suggests, consists of flash memory, similar to what's in USB flash drives or Secure Digital media cards. This tip discusses the The pros and cons of solid-state drives in an SMB environment.Continue Reading

• What software tools do you use to manage your storage systems?

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• Six requirements for deploying primary storage optimization solutions

  With companies starting to perform data reduction on primary storage, it's important for them to understand the requirements that primary storage optimization demands.Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of thin provisioning

  Most storage area networks (SANs) have a section in their marketing material entitled "Thin Provisioning," but what is it, how does it work and why does it matter? In this tip, Mark Arnold discusses how thin provisioning can help with both the ...Continue Reading

• Finding the right CAS system for your organization

  Content-addressed storage (CAS) is a specialized type of archive that provides the inexpensive and high-capacity storage needed to retain data that, although accessed infrequently, still has long-term relevance to the enterprise.Continue Reading

• Choosing the right switch for an iSCSI SAN

  ISCSI storage doesn't actually require a switch. However, some iSCSI switches offer advanced capabilities that can increase SAN performance. This article offers information about choosing an iSCSI switch and a user case study.Continue Reading

• Small-midsized business NAS product evaluation

  NAS is available in a wide variety of sizes, prices and levels of sophistication. This article compares and contrasts four very different NAS systems: the Buffalo TeraStation Pro II Pro, the Reldata 9240, the Synology RS407, and the Western Digital ...Continue Reading

• For an SMB, what are the advantages and disadvantages of an in-house email archiving system vs. a ho

  There are a lot of pros and cons for both at all business sizes. But SMBs tend to be more price and administration sensitive. In other words, if you are a company that has an annual IT budget from $10,000 to $100,000, you simply can not go out and ...Continue Reading

• Product Roundup: Data classification

  Over the past few years, data classification has gone from a standalone offering to a feature of broader products.Continue Reading

• Host bus adapter (HBA) architecture explained

  HBAs are integral pieces of a SAN environment -- they connect the server to the SAN -- but few storage administrators know how to configure them.Continue Reading

• NAS system planning strategies

  Implementing a NAS environment requires a lot of planning. This tip tells you why location, power and allocation are vital to consider when installing a NAS.Continue Reading

• Email archiving product specifications

  Product specifications for email and file/document management tools can help storage administrators evaluating email archiving products quickly and compare them.Continue Reading

• Selecting archiving products

  Some data archives are little more than "dumb" disk arrays, but the more sophisticated archives provide data deduplication for single-instance storage, robust power conservation features and immutability for data that may be needed as evidence in ...Continue Reading

• Guide to data migration tools for storage consolidation

  One of the hardest parts about storage consolidation is data migration -- knowing what data to move, and when and where to move it. What are the criteria for purchasing a data migration tool?Continue Reading

• Hot Storage Skills

  As storage becomes more complex and costly, businesses are seeking storage professionals who can architect various tiers of networked storage, document what they've done, and help their business units select the type of storage that best supports ...Continue Reading

• Data classification product specifications

  The product snapshots in this chapter of the Tiered Storage Buying guide highlight key specifications for a cross-section of data classification products.Continue Reading

• Data migration product specifications

  This chapter of the Tiered Storage Buying guide focuses on product specifications for data migration tools.Continue Reading

• E-discovery product specifications

  The product snapshots in this chapter highlight key specifications for a cross section of e-discovery tools.Continue Reading

• Finding the right archiving software product for your organization

  Archive software provides many of the features we take for granted in modern archive systems, including index and search, data classification and migration, retention and deletion, litigation hold and even data reduction technologies, such as data ...Continue Reading

• How to select a storage capacity planning tool

  To select a storage management and capacity planning tool, first calculate how much storage is available and how much of your total storage capacity is actually being used.Continue Reading

• Clustered storage vendor Isilon hot-swaps CEOs

  Beset by disappointing sales since it went public last December, Isilon turns to founder Sujal Patel as its CEO.Continue Reading

• Choosing a low-end NAS product

  Many low-end NAS products are designed for personal or home office use. However, there are some products on the market suitable for certain SMB or enterprise-level applications. Learn what you need to consider before deploying a low-end NAS product.Continue Reading

• When purchasing NAS products, look before you leap

  Storage can be added to a network using NAS devices -- dedicated disk-based storage devices that attach to the LAN through an ordinary network connection. NAS devices can be expanded with additional disks, and new NAS appliances can be added as ...Continue Reading

• How to choose an e-discovery tool

  Here is a list of factors to consider when choosing an e-discovery tool.Continue Reading

• NAS gateway product snapshots

  A NAS gateway offers file-based accesses to external storage on a disk array -- or a SAN, where users can take advantage of superior performance and reliability while maintaining a level of simplicity. Since storage is moved off of the NAS device, ...Continue Reading

• How to choose the correct RAID level

  This tip offers nine things to consider when deciding which RAID level is right for your organization's needs.Continue Reading

• Choosing a storage virtualization approach

  This tip outlines three approaches to storage virtualization available today, along with some benefits, caveats and some examples of each.Continue Reading

• Specifications for storage capacity planning products

  Gauging storage needs over time is one of the biggest challenges faced by IT administrators, and a new generation of capacity planning tools is emerging to help forecast growth and utilization of storage resources, and even perform predictive ...Continue Reading

• What are the disadvantages of unified storage over independent block and file systems?

  There are some compromises that you'll need to make; there are certainly some control granularity issues. The pattern of access for file-based data and block-based data is significantly different...Continue Reading

• Brocade migration tool does the trick for EMC user

  The University of New Mexico Hospital first tried EMC's SANCopy to migrate data off of an old Xiotech array, but ended up having to use Brocade's Data Migration Manager instead.Continue Reading

• Five must-have storage security testing tools

  You know that your storage systems need to be secured and there are plenty of tools to find general security vulnerabilities. But, what about tools that look specifically at storage security vulnerabilities? There are a handful of these tools that ...Continue Reading

• Data storage compliance's impact on storage product choices

  Data storage compliance is having a tremendous impact on the storage organization, as well as the management practices employed to retain, search, certify and destroy data. It's not just regulations like SOX or HIPAA that influence storage -- there ...Continue Reading

• Data migration products: Proceed with caution

  Host-based data migration products are the best choice for moving mission-critical data. While there are only a few products in this category, they vary significantly.Continue Reading

• NICs in NAS systems

  NAS expert Randy Kerns answers the question: "Is it typical, when using a NAS appliance, that a host/server would have 2xNICs installed?"Continue Reading

• NAS checkpoints for NFS and CIFS file systems

  NAS expert Randy Kerns discusses NAS checkpoint best practices for NFS and CIFS file systems.Continue Reading

• Buyer's Guide: Data classification tools

  Automated tools play an important role in the data classification process. Many tools allow administrators to discover the data resources that are available, apply uniform classification rules to data across the entire enterprise, create and manage ...Continue Reading

• The winners of Storage magazine's Products of the Year were surprising

  Storage Bin: The winners of Storage magazine's Products of the Year were surprising, as so few of them were big-name storage vendors. Here's Steve Duplessie's take on the subject.Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting your NAS system

  This tip will point out some common sense suggestions and best practices that may help you to create or maintain a more robust and reliable NAS infrastructure.Continue Reading

• Data classification: The vendors

  Corporate information resources regularly stretch into the terabytes (thousands of gigabytes) with many thousands (even millions) of individual files to contend with -- but the problem is now far more complex than simply "finding files". Finding ...Continue Reading

• Which is the best platform for a storage subsystem management tool?

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• Customer value for features/characteristics

  This column originally appeared on TechTarget's Expert Answer Center as a post in Randy Kerns' blog. Randy served as the Continue Reading